Your chimney looks fine from the yard — but inspectors know better.

Dear Jim: We use our wood-burning fireplace for heat. It has not been cleaned out for years and we noticed bad spots on the outdoor chimney brick. What maintenance steps can we do ourselves? -- ...

Jeff Somers is a freelancer who has been writing about writing, books, personal finance, and home maintenance since 2012. When not writing, Jeff spends his free time fixing up his old house. He has ...